Plastic container with drain back spout and method and apparatus for making same

ABSTRACT

A one-piece self-draining container and method and apparatus for forming same. The container includes a body and a finish wall extending upwardly from a body opening. The finish wall surrounds a dispensing spout which extends above the top of the wall. A frustoconical web joins the finish wall and the dispensing spout to form a drain apron gutter channel having a relatively steeply inclined cone angle. A drain opening is defined adjacent the channel for draining fluid from the channel into the container body. A removable cap having a depending skirt defining a thread which mates with an internal thread on the container wall to thereby threadably engage and close the container. The method is performed on the type of extrusion-injection blow molding machine as generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,804,654 as modified in accordance with the invention to form the web wall in situ with a frustoconical configuration of uniform cross sectional thickness.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to plastic containers and more particularly to aplastic container molded in one piece so as to include a drain backspout as molded.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In dispensing liquid from containers wherein only a portion of thecontents of the container is used at any one time, as is the case withmany products such as liquid detergents and bleaches, the consumer isconcerned with the messiness which occurs from drops of the liquidcontents draining down the neck and side of the container uponcompletion of the pouring. Thus, when a bottle having an upper neck isturned from its normal upright storage position to an inverteddispensing position and then back to its upright position, a few dropsof such liquid will invariably drain down the outside of the neck of thecontainer. A number of prior art container designs have disclosedvarious drain back spout (DBS) features for capturing such excess fluidand causing it to drain back into the container rather than drip downthe neck and side.

Many of such DBS designs require a multiplicity of pieces which areassembled in a post molding operation, or require a re-shaping operationto re-position the spout. The self-draining containers of U.S. Pat. Nos.4,989,757 and 5,114,659 overcame such problems encountered with multiplepart self-draining containers by providing a one-piece self-drainingcontainer and method and apparatus for making the same so that thecontainer can be molded in a single machine while incorporating a drainback spout feature as an integral part of the container, i.e., as partof the finish formed during the container molding operation. Thus, theonly other element required for a complete package is a suitableremovable closure for sealing the container. Such one-piece containersare much more economical to produce than a container requiring multiplepieces because the container is completed upon molding and hencepost-molding operations are not required.

In the various embodiments of one-piece self-draining containersdisclosed in the aforementioned '757 patent, the dispensing spout isequal to or greater in diameter than the neck of the container,regardless of which of the methods and type of machine is employed inmaking the same. One such '757 patent container is made by a type ofblow molding characterized as injection-extrusion blow molding utilizinga blow molding machine of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,804,654(hereinafter "'654 machine") which is in widespread use by the assigneeof the present invention. When so utilizing the '654 machine to make thecontainer of the '757 patent, the lower or container-interior surface ofthe web member extends radially outwardly from the neck of thenarrow-shouldered container body and at right angles to the axis A ofthe neck, whereas the upper or container-exterior surface of the web isslightly inclined in order to promote some limited liquid drainage backto the lowermost portion of the gap in the spout when the container isreturned to its upright storage position.

The self-draining container of U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,659 is likewise madeby a method performed by the '654 machine in order to produce aone-piece self-draining container. However, the '659 patent containerdiffers in configuration from that of the '757 patent in that the pourspout is smaller in diameter than the neck of the container and hence isbetter adapted to the broad shoulder type container body shown in the'659 patent and hence is preferred for many applications.

In addition, the '659 patent discloses a method of molding whichprovides internal threads with superior thread definition and lack ofdistortion by making the thread extend for at least two complete turns,i.e., 720°, so that at any axial section of the neck wall, there willalways be at least two thread segments. This overcame the problem ofthread distortion when stripping of containers having a thread with lessthan two full turns that previously resulted in producing containerswhich, although functionally usable, were less than commerciallydesirable. This improved stripping action, as will be seen from the '659patent, was accomplished with a container neck of smaller diameter thanthe integral portion of the upper shoulder area of the container body towhich the neck is joined, and also, of course, with a pour spout havinga smaller diameter than that of the container neck.

However, in the one-piece self-draining container of the '659 patent,like that of the container of FIG. 3 of the '757 patent, the bottom orinterior surface of the apron web extended radially in a planeperpendicular to the axis of the neck, and hence the upper surface ofthe web could only be slightly inclined to thereby somewhat promote theaforementioned gravity drain back. The inclination of the web uppersurface relative to the web lower surface is limited as a practicalmatter because excessive plastic thickness in the web negatively affectsthe mold cycle time and hence production efficiency. Such asymmetriccross-sectional shape of the web wall also produces some productionproblems with respect to side loading of the tooling and toolingalignment.

Due to the foregoing limitations, the ledge formed by the web at thebase of the pour spout is nearly flat. Hence with prior art DBScontainers made in accordance with the '659 patent for broad shoulderedcontainers the spillage residue from the product dispensed from thecontainer tends to remain inside the finish area. This remainingresidual drain back product can result in a messy package for theconsumer when pouring or re-applying the closure. Accordingly, there hasexisted a need for many years for improving DBS configuration in suchone-piece plastic containers to better promote gravity drain back intothe container without sacrificing the advantages of the method,apparatus and improved thread definition of the '659 patent as practicedin '654 machines and as applied to a broad-shoulder container body.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, among the objects of the present invention are to provide anew and novel one-piece self-draining container which can be molded on asingle machine, which requires no assembly operations, which has a steepinclination of the web drain wall that better promotes the product todrain away from the container finish back into the container, whichenables the container drain web wall to be made of uniform plasticthickness and sufficiently thin so as not to negatively affectproduction cycle time.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved methodand apparatus for making a container of the aforementioned character ona widely used '654 type machine that is economically retrofitted inaccordance with the invention with a minimum of component changes andmodifications, that retains the advantages of the method and containerof the '659 patent, which eliminates the problems faced in the past withside loading of the tooling and tooling alignment concerns whenfashioning the prior web of non-uniform thickness and non-parallel upperand lower surfaces, and that enables an improved container of theaforementioned character to be made in a rapid, reliable and economicalmanner with already available production equipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general, and by way of summary description and not by way oflimitation, the present invention accomplishes the foregoing objects byproviding an improved one-piece self-draining container and improvedmethod and improved apparatus for forming the same. The containerincludes a body and a finish wall extending upwardly from a bodyopening. The finish wall surrounds a dispensing spout which extendsabove the top of the wall. A drain back apron web joins the finish walland the dispensing spout and has a generally frustoconical contour toform a drain apron gutter channel having a relatively steeply inclinedcone angle. A drain opening is defined adjacent the gutter channel,preferably in the form of a gap at the rear of the spout, for drainingfluid from the channel into the container body. The apron web ispreferably constructed and arranged to have generally parallel upper andlower wall surfaces sloping downwardly toward the spout in the containerupright position.

The method of the invention for constructing the improved container isperformed on a modified conventional '654 type extrusion/injection blowmolding machine that is operated in the conventional manner in a normalcycle so that the container is manufactured by a process in which atleast the neck, dispensing spout, annular finish wall, apron web, andthe drain gap through which liquids flow are formed in a first mold inone operation and the body is thereafter formed by blow molding, with nopost-molding reconfiguring operations required for those portions formedin the first mold in order to provide the final as-molded containercnfiguration. The conventional '654 molding machine is modified byconstructing and arranging the web forming portion of the injection moldcavity tooling to mold form a generally frustoconical upper surface onthe web, and constructing and arranging the end surface of the extrusiondie head that closes the injection mold cavity so as to mold form agenerally frustoconical lower surface on the web. Preferably, this isaccomplished by recessing the central surface on the mandrel end thatmates with the lower end of the injection mold core pin so that theseparts meet in a central abutment zone spaced below the annular extruderoutlet formed between the upper end of the mandrel and the bushing thatsurrounds the mandrel in the extrusion tooling. A frustoconical surfaceis then formed on the mandrel end so as to encircle the recessed mandrelcentral surface and to taper upwardly and radially outwardly therefromto intersect with the plane of the annular extrusion die outlet.Likewise the lower end of the finish insert sleeve of the injection moldtooling is reconfigured complemental to the mandrel end frustoconicalsurface so that the mold cavity surfaces define therebetween a moldcavity adapted to form the apron web such that it has a generallyfrustoconical contour.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing as well as other objects, features and advantages of thepresent invention will become apparent from the following detaileddescription of the best mode presently known to the inventor of makingand using the invention, from the appended claims and from theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a containerconstructed according to the present invention, with a cap positionedabove the container:

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the line 2--2in FIG. 1 showing the top portion of the container of FIG. 1 with thecap in place to thereby provide the first embodiment self-drainingpackage;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view, partially in center axial cross sectionand partially in elevation, of a '654 type machine modified inaccordance with the invention to produce the first embodiment container,and showing the finish portion of the container being extrusioninjection molded in accordance with the method of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to that of FIG. 3 butwith the extrusion tooling removed from the injection molding toolingand replaced by blow mold halves, FIG. 4 showing a portion of the closedblow-mold with the body portion of the container blown therein;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the finish portion of asecond embodiment of a one-piece self-draining container alsoconstructed in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view similar to that of FIG. 3and illustrating a further modification to the tooling of a '654 typemachine in accordance with the invention to produce the secondembodiment DBS container of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIRST EMBODIMENTCONTAINER

Referring in more detail to the accompanying drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2illustrate a first embodiment of a self-draining container 10constructed in accordance with the present invention. While theself-draining container 10 as depicted is a plastic bottle specificallydesigned for liquids, other self-draining containers which fall withinthe scope of the present invention may be constructed of other materialsand used to contain liquids, powders or granules.

The self-draining container 10 includes a body portion 11 of the"broad-shouldered"type which terminates in an opening 12 through whichthe contents of container 10 can be dispensed. An integrally formed(i.e., as used herein, the term "integral" means a one-piececonstruction as molded) dispensing portion 14, commonly termed a"finish", extends from and communicates with body portion 11. Finish 14includes a circular neck wall 16 which extends angularly around the bodyopening 12. A dispensing spout 18 is located within and is encircled bywall 16 and includes an upper end pouring lip 20 that extends above atop end edge 22 of wall 16.

In accordance with one of the principal features of the presentinvention, the outside diameter of spout 18 is smaller than the insidediameter of wall 16, and a steeply inclined drip collecting apron 24 inthe form of a frustoconical web wall extends between wall 16 from anelevation below top edge 22 to the lower end edge 26 of spout 18 tothereby connect the spout to the container neck. In the embodiment ofFIGS. 1 and 2, the cone angle of web 24 is approximately 30° and web 24is circumferentially continuous through 360° and connects wall 16 to thelower circular edge 26 of spout 18. Web 24 together with neck wall 16and pour spout 18 define a drain gutter channel 28 into which fluidflowing back down about the exterior of spout 18 and the interior ofclosure 40 may drain under the influence of gravitational forces whencontainer 10 is uprighted after it has been inverted for pouring. Liquidthen flows from gutter 28 back into the container 10 by entering theaxially extending spout rear gap that is defined between the pair ofspaced apart rear edges 30 of spout 18 (only one edge 30 being shown inFIG. 2). Web 24 should extend at least half way around finish wall 16,and preferably all the way around as shown in FIG. 2, to thereby preventflow of liquid from the container interior into gutter channel 28 whenthe container 10 is partially inverted to a pouring position.

The inner surface of wall 16 has formed therein a thread 32 which, inaccordance with the aforementioned '659 patent, extends at least twocomplete turns so that any section cut axially through such wall 16 willhave two separate and distinct portions of the thread 32. As set forthin the '659 patent, forming a container having a spout 18 and anencircling wall 16 with an internal thread 32 of such length permitscontainer 10 to be stripped from the injection mold without causingdistortion to thread 32.

Referring to both FIGS. 1 and 2, a closure or cap 40 includes a top 42and a depending sidewall 44. A sealing ring 46 extends radiallyoutwardly from sidewall 44 and a cylindrical skirt 48 depends downwardlybelow ring 46. External threads 49 are formed on an exterior surface ofskirt 48 and cooperate with threads 32 of the container finish 14 forthreadably engaging and removing cap 40 relative to container 10. Itwill be understood that in other embodiments of the invention, thefinish threads 32 may be provided on the exterior of wall 18 to matewith cap threads located on the interior of the cap skirt.

FIRST EMBODIMENT BLOW MOLDING METHOD AND MACHINE

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the self-draining container 10 may beproduced in one-piece within the normal cycle of a blow molding machineof a type known as the aforementioend '654 machine, as modified inaccordance with the invention. This type of blow molding may becharacterized as injection/extrusion blow molding and is used by theassignee of the present invention and others with a machine hereindesignated as the '654 machine. No post-molding container reconfiguringoperations are needed to produce the self-draining finish configurationon this type of machine. An injection/extrusion tooling portion of a'654 machine is generally indicated by the reference numeral 50 in FIGS.3 and 4. Details of a '654 machine, mode of operation, and methodpracticed thereby are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,804,654, which isincorporated herein by reference. Further details of the stripping ofthe container from the injection mold without causing distortion of thethreads 32 may be found in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,659,which is also incorporated herein by reference.

In the method utilized by the '654 machine, both existing and asmodified in accordance with the invention disclosed herein, the upperneck or finish portion of the container is first injection molded in theinjection mold tooling of the machine. Upon completion of the injectionmolding step, the injection mold tooling is raised away from the orificeof the injection/extrusion die head tooling while a length of heated andplasticized tubing is extruded from the die head. The tubing isintegrally connected to the injection molded finish and is thereforedrawn upwardly as the tubing is extruded. After the proper length of thetubing has been extruded, blow mold halves of the '654 machine closearound the tubing and air is introduced through the injection moldtooling assembly to expand the tubing in the closed blow mold to formthe remainder (i.e., body) of the container. These steps are shown anddescribed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 2,804,654.

The injection step is shown in FIG. 3 wherein the extrusion die headtooling is generally designated by the numeral 50 and includes a bushing52 and a mandrel 54 which cooperate to define an annular extrusionorifice 56 through which the heated and plasticized material is expelledupwardly into the injection mold cavity defined by the finish and neckrink assembly injection mold tooling 58 juxtaposed to the extrusion dietooling 50. Tooling 58 includes a movable neck ring assembly 60 which ismounted (by means not shown) for movement downwardly into engagementwith the bushings 52 of the extrusion tooling 50 and in registry withthe extrusion orifice 56 during the injection molding step, and formovement upwardly during the extrusion step to thereby draw the oncomingtubing upwardly away from the orifice 56 as it is extruded therefrom.The neck ring assembly 60 includes neck ring halves 62 and 64 which canopen and close radially and which have interior wall portions 66 and 68,respectively, against which the exterior surface of the annular wall 16of the container finish is molded. The neck ring assembly 60 alsoincludes a core pin 70 having a blow passageway 72 extending axiallytherethrough through which pressurized air may be introduced into theextruded tubing via blow passageway 72 after such tubing is enclosedwithin the blow mold mating halves 74, 76 (FIG. 4) to thereby expand thetube in the blow mold and form the body 11 of container 10.

Core pin 70 has an enlarged diameter head portion 80 at its lower endthat is contoured on its exterior surface to provide the mold cavitysurface for forming the interior surface of container spout 18. Core pin70 has a reduced diameter shank portion 82 that extends from head 80 upto a radially protruding collar portion 84. A finish insert sleevesubassembly 86, made up of a collar part 88 and a sleeve 90 removablyfastened to the underside thereof by machine bolts 92, encircles shank82 of core pin 70 and defines a recessed area 92 extending from theupper edge 94 of core pin head 80 to the undersurface ledge 96 of collar88 of the finish insert subassembly 86. Sleeve 90 has amold-cavity-defining interior surface recess 100 of a configuration tocooperate with exterior surface configuration of core pin 80 to therebymold form the upper end 20 and the outer surface of spout 18. The lowerexterior portion of sleeve 90 mold forms the interior surface of wall 16and has a thread recess 102 in which the thread 32 is molded. As in the'659 patent, the length of the thread recess 102 is such as to provideat least two complete turns (i.e., 720°) so that in any axial section ofthe wall 16, there will always be at least two thread segments,regardless of where the axial section is taken throughout the entire360° circumferential extent of wall 16. It will be seen that the upperend of the sleeve assembly 86 comprises the cap collar 88 that slidablyencircles the core pin shank 82 and can move relative thereto betweenthe end stops provided by shoulder ledges 94, 95 of the core pinsubassembly.

In accordance with another principal feature of the method and apparatusof the present invention, the lower end surface 104 of sleeve 90 ismodified so as to be configured frustoconically at a downwardlyconvergent cone angle to thereby define the injection mold cavitysurface for mold forming the frustoconical upper surface 106 of theapron web 24 (FIG. 2). In addition, the upper surface of the extrusionmandrel 54 is modified so as to be configured to form a central,circular, planar recessed surface 108 that abuts the mating flatcircular lower end face 110 of core pin head 80, as shown in FIG. 3,when the extrusion/injection die head tooling 50 is operably engagedwith the neck ring tooling 60 of injection tooling 58 to perform theinjection molding operation. The mandrel recessed end surface 108 issurrounded by an annular frustoconical mandrel surface 112 that isconfigured to define the injection mold cavity surface that mold formsboth the undersurface 114 of web 24 (FIG. 5) and the integral bottomedge 26 of spout 18. This occurs upon mold closure when extrusion diehead 50 is oriented to complete the injection mold cavity in cooperationwith sleeve 90 and the exterior mold cavity surface of core pin head 80,and with head 80 in abutment with its head face 110 seating tightly onmandrel surface 108.

Upon completion of the injection molding step of FIG. 3, the injectionmold is raised from orifice 56 of extrusion/injection die head 50 whilea length of heated and plasticized tubing is being extruded through theextrusion orifice 56. This tubing is integrally connected to theinjection molded finish formed as shown in FIG. 3 and is therefore drawnupwardly as the tubing is extruded. After the proper length of tubinghas been extruded, and referring to FIG. 4, the blow mold halves 74, 76close around the tubing and then air is introduced through the injectionmold assembly via passageway 72 to expand the tubing in the closed moldto form the remainder of the container, as set forth in more detail inthe aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 2,804,654.

Following blowing of the body portion 11 of container 10, spout 18,apron web 24 and finish wall 16 may be removed from the neck ringassembly 60. This is normally done after the halves 74, 76 of the blowmold in which body portion 11 was molded have been opened. Such removalis accomplished by the sequence of the steps described in conjunctionwith FIGS. 11 through 13 of the aforementioned '659 patent, which isincorporated herein by reference and not repeated. However, it is to benoted that the present invention, despite modifying the '654 machinemandrel and core pin tooling to form the frustoconical web wall 24,still retains the advantage of enabling stripping of the threads 32 ofthe finish with minimal distortion. This stripping process is believedto be also enhanced by retaining the broad shoulder configuration ofcontainer body 11 at its junction with the container finish incombination with the smaller diameter spout 18, as contrasted with thenarrow neck bodies and larger diameter spouts of the aforementioned U.S.Pat. No. 4,989,757.

SECOND EMBODIMENT ONE-PIECE SELF-DRAINING CONTAINER

FIG. 5 illustrates a second embodiment one-piece self-draining container10' of the invention in which those elements identical to those ofcontainer 10 are given like reference numerals, and those elements alikein function are given like reference numerals raised by a prime suffix,and their description not repeated. As will be seen by comparing FIGS. 2and 5, the second embodiment container 10' differs only with respect tothe configuration of the apron web wall 24'. Web wall 24' is tapereddownwardly at a slant so that its lowest region is centered on the spoutopening at the gap edges 30' diametrically opposite the pouring lip 20of spout 18'. In essence, the cone axis of wall 24' is tiltednon-parallel to the central longitudinal axis of body 11 or neck wall 16by about 10°, and hence the lower edge 26' of spout 18' is likewiseinclined as shown in FIG. 5 to match this chance in configuration of theapron web 24'. This reconfiguration of the embodiment of FIG.5 furtherpromotes gravity-induced drainage of product by making the area of apron24' leading into the rear spout gap opening 30 the lowest region of thedrain apron gutter when the spout is in its normal upright position.

SECOND EMBODIMENT METHOD AND APPARATUS

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of '654 machine extrusion tooling andneck ring injection tooling as modified in accordance with the inventionin order to produce the container 10' of FIG. 5. It will be seen thatthose elements identical to those previously described are given likereference numerals and their description not repeated, and thoseelements alike in function but modified are given like referencenumerals raised by a prime suffix. It will be seen that the only changesneeded to accomplish the revised embodiment of FIG. 5 is to modify theupper end face configuration of mandrel 54' and likewise thecorresponding lower surface of finish insert sleeve 104'. The lower endhead 80' of mold core 70' will fit into a recess in the top surface ofmandrel tip 54'. The lower finish insert sleeve surface 104' and the topmandrel tip surface 112' have mating slopes to maintain a substantiallyuniform gap to allow for a consistent material thickness on web 24'. Theopposing faces 108, 110' of mandrel 54' and head 80' are horizontalrather than angulated, which eliminates any side loading problems thatmight otherwise occur in the tooling.

From the foregoing description and the drawing figures as referencedtherein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that theimproved one-piece self-draining container of the invention, and theimproved method and apparatus for making the same in accordance with theinvention, amply fulfill the aforestated objects and provide manyadvantages over the prior art. The pour spout 18, 18' is integrallyjoined to the container, i.e., made in one piece with the container asmolded, and is integrally joined to the surrounding container neck by adrip collecting apron web or ledge that is tapered or angulateddownwardly at a steep angle throughout its circumference, therebyproviding an improved drain gutter contour better promoting productdrippage flow toward the reduced diameter pour spout to encouragegravity-induced flow of liquid back into the container. Yet theadvantages of a molded-in spout are retained, as are the advantages ofthe improved thread definition of the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No.5,114,659. Thus, the problem in the '659 patent of the product remaininginside the finish area because the ledge formed at the base of the spoutis nearly flat is overcome because of the improved ability of theproduct to drain back into the container due to the greatly increasedslope angle of the frustoconical configuration of the ledge web 24 or24' toward the spout and therearound to the gap opening 30 at the rearof the spout.

Moreover, this improved container drain gutter configuration is obtainedby utilizing the already existing '654 type blow molding machines withonly minor modifications thereto. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 6, onlythe upper face of mandrel 54 need be machined and ground to the recessedconfiguration of either FIG. 3 or FIG. 6. Likewise the head 80 or 80' ofthe core pin assembly 70 or 70' needs to be replaced with an axiallyelongated head, the finish insert sleeve 90 or 90' modified by extendingthe sleeve axially, and contouring the sleeve bottom surface 104 or 104'to correspond with the contour of mandrel tip surface 112 or 112'. Allthe remaining components of the machine remain unchanged, and the cycleof operation of the machine is not affected Despite the improvedconfiguration of the web wall 24 or 24', the cross sectional thicknessof the web wall remains uniform and relatively thin so as to not affectmachine cycle time.

Thus, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, many revisionsand changes may be made to the various elements of the preferredembodiments of the selfdraining container and its method and apparatusfor manufacture described above, including numerous modifications inconfiguration and shape styles, without thereby departing from theprinciples of the invention and scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. In a self-draining container molded in one piecehavinga body portion; an integrally formed neck defining a cylindricalopening having a predetermined diameter, said neck formed in situ withand extending upwardly from said body portion, a dispensing spout formedintegral and in situ with and at least partially encircled by said neck,at least a portion of said dispensing spout being a section of cylinderhaving an external surface with a diameter less than said predetermineddiameter, said dispensing spout having a circumferential extent of atleast 180° but less than 360° and presenting opposing edges which definea gap at the lower end of said spout, and an integrally formed annularfinish wall encircling said spout in spaced relation thereto; an apronweb integrally connecting said annular finish wall and said spout tosaid neck, said web being formed in situ with said annular finish walland dispensing spout and cooperating therewith to define a channel forreceiving liquids draining from said dispensing spout when the containeris moved from an inverted dispensing position to an upright position;said apron web having generally parallel upper and lower wall surfacessloping downwardly toward said spout in the container upright position;said web extending upwardly and outwardly from the lower end of saidspout extending upwardly from said web along an axis generally parallelto the axis of said neck; said web having a substantially uniformcross-sectional thickness throughout its radial and circumferentialextent encircling said spout; said gap providing an opening throughwhich liquids may flow from said channel to said neck and body portionwhen the container is upright, said container being manufactured by aprocess in which at least the portions of the container comprising theneck, dispensing spout, annular finish wall, web and said gap throughwhich liquids flow are formed and joined integrally by molding in afirst mold by injection molding in one operation and the body isthereafter integrally formed and joined integrally with those portionsinjection mold formed in the first mold by extruding a length of tubingjoined at one end thereof to an extending integrally from said finishportion and the tubing is thereafter blown to form the container bodyportion by blow molding in a second mold but in the same molding machineapparatus in which the injection molding is performed with nopost-molding operations required for those portions injection moldformed in the first mold.
 2. A self-draining container as defined inclaim 1 wherein said web has a frustoconical configuration with a coneangle of about 30°.
 3. A self-draining container as set forth in claim 2wherein the axis of said web is oriented generally parallel to the axisof said spout.
 4. A self-draining container as set forth in claim 2wherein the axis of said web is oriented to tilt away from the axis ofsaid spout in an upwardly divergent direction and inclined toward saidspout gap.
 5. A one-piece plastic container having a body portionintegrally joined to a dispensing finish portion including a dispensingspout, an apron gutter web and a cylindrical finish wall, said containerbeing formed by a process in which(a) there is formed and integrallyjoined by injection molding(i) said upwardly extending dispensing spout;(ii) said web extending radially outwardly from the lower end of saiddispensing spout; and (iii) said cylindrical finish wall spaced radiallyoutwardly of and encircling said dispensing spout formed in situ andcooperating with said dispensing spout and said web to define an aprongutter channel into which liquid draining down the outside of saiddispenser spout may be captured; and having opening means providingcommunication between the interior of said body portion and saidchannel; and said cylindrical finish wall having a predetermineddiameter determining a cross-sectional size and having integrally moldedclosure retention means on the interior surface thereof; (b) there isformed by blow molding as part of the same process said body portionintegral and in situ with and depending from the lower portion of saidcylindrical finish wall, said body portion flaring outwardly from thelower end of said cylindrical finish wall to an area of enlargedcross-sectional size; and, (c) the improvement in combination therewithof said web being injection mold formed in step (a) to have generallyparallel upper and lower wall surfaces sloping downwardly toward saidspout in the container upright position, wherein said web extendsupwardly and outwardly from the lower end of said spout, said spoutextending upwardly from said web along an axis parallel to the axis ofsaid neck, wherein said web has a substantially uniform cross-sectionalthickness throughout its radial and circumferential extent encirclingsaid spout and wherein, and, after those container portions that havebeen formed by injection molding in step (a) are completely injectionmolded, in step (b) a blowable parison is thereafter integrally formedwith the finish portion by extruding a length of tubing having its uppermold joined integrally to said finish wall and the tubing is thereafterblown to form the body portion.
 6. A self-draining container as definedin claim 5 wherein said web has a frustoconical configuration with acone angle of about 30°.
 7. A self-draining container as set forth inclaim 6 wherein the axis of said web is oriented generally parallel tothe axis of said spout.
 8. A self-draining container as set forth inclaim 6 wherein the axis of said web is oriented to tilt away from theaxis of said spout in an upwardly divergent direction and inclinedtoward said spout gap.